Marathon Woman
by Lumosthecat
Summary: Joan takes up training for the Particles in Motion 10 mile run following vague advice from JoggerGod. Aching bones, Adam and Joan fluff and a little Friedman thrown in, too. Post Dive.
1. Just Another Monday Morning

**Marathon Woman**

_Disclaimer: JOAN OF ARCADIA is the creation of Barbara Hall and I have no legal rights to the story or characters._

Chapter 1: Just Another Monday Morning

"Where are my shoes? I had them here, like, ten seconds ago and now they're gone! MOM!"

"Did you check under your bed, Joan? For some reason, your things tend to gravitate towards there."

"Thanks for the sarcasm. Much appreciated on a Monday morning." Joan crouched down on the floor, lay down on her stomach and rummaged under her bed. Pushing aside her green sweater and one of her favourite scarves, she found what she was looking for. "Gravitating towards my bed. What does gravity have anything to do with things going missing?" she grumbled to herself. Jamming her feet into her shoes, she raced downstairs to try and get her hands on the last pop tart.

"Argh!" She stopped short of the kitchen when she saw her brother Luke stuffing the much desired breakfast treat into his mouth.

"Did you find your shoes, sub-defective?" Luke asked.

"Did you find your life, nerd-boy?" She countered. She stalked to the kitchen counter and slammed open cupboards, searching for something edible. "Why is there never anything to eat?"

"Have some bran, dear. It would make your mom so happy." Joan's father said as he headed out the door.

"We've been over this, already! No one wants to be around me when I've had bran in the morning!" He gave a vague wave in acknowledgement and kept right on going.

Deciding to grab something on her way to school, Joan gathered up her books to leave.

"Are you leaving? I'll walk with you." Wiping crumbs from his face, Luke grabbed his book bag and followed his sister.

"Must you walk with me? Why aren't you walking with Grace?"

"She, uh, prefers to just meet at school."

"Figures."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"Well, it's not like Adam walks with you to school everyday, either. Or any day for that matter."

"True. But at least he'll hold my hand walking through the halls."

"Shut up." At her raised eyebrow, he amended his statement with, "We're working on it. Give it some time. It's Grace we're talking about here."

"True. Gotta give you props for getting her to acknowledge it at all."

"Yeah, well…" Luke's voice faded as he blushed.

Joan rolled her eyes. Her brother was a total geek, but his feelings for Grace, now that Joan actually paid attention, were quite obvious. Deciding that she didn't want to speculate on their relationship any more than she already had, she walked on in silence.

Ahead, a lone runner was trudging along. Wearing spandex shorts, a yellow t-shirt and matching wristbands, she huffed and puffed up the hill towards them. Just as she was passing them, she bumped into Joan's shoulder. Wheezing, the woman stopped, clutching Joan's arm, gasping out apologies.

"Hey, it's O.K. I should have moved over or something. Are you O.K? Do you need, like, medical attention or something?" Helplessly, she looked over at Luke who had already continued along.

"I'm fine, Joan." Still breathing heavily, Jogger-God looked intently at Joan.

"Are you, you? Or course you're you. What are you doing running? Isn't there an easier way for you to stay in shape?"

"Running… it's good for the soul as well as the body. You should try it sometime."

She looked at him with immense trepidation. "Try it sometime? Are you serious or what?"

Jogger-God smiled benignly at her as she caught her breath. "It cleanses you. Helps you think clearly; gives you perspective. Gotta go. Better hurry or you'll be late for class." She gave a backwards wave as she set out once more.

"Don't be late for class. Try running? Is He kidding? I can barely run around the gym for phys ed without needing a lung transplant." Hearing the first bell in the distance, she quickened her pace to reach the school.

(tbc)


	2. Particles in Motion

**Marathon Woman**

_Disclaimer: JOAN OF ARCADIA is the creation of Barbara Hall and I have no legal rights to the story or characters._

Chapter 2: Particles in Motion

Heading into AP Physics later that day, Joan took her usual spot between Grace and Adam.

Adam reached over and gently squeezed her hand. "I missed you this morning."

Rolling her eyes, Grace turned away from her two best friends.

"Yeah, sorry, stupid joggers." She turned her hand over to clasp his.

"What? Joggers?"

"Yeah, I almost got run over by one today. Had to take a minute to see if she was alright. She looked like she was going to collapse. Of course, my loser brother just kept walking on." She glared at the back of Luke's head.

"I heard that."

"You were supposed to."

"You're alright though, right Jane?" Adam's look of concern melted her heart.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She started to lean towards him to kiss him, when Grace cleared her throat, loudly. Jumping back she looked up to see Ms. Lishack making her way towards their table.

"Alternate Girardi. Mr. Rove. Care to tell us what's so interesting?" Swinging her pointer like a baton, she aimed raised eyebrows towards them.

"Um, just talking about joggers. And running?"

"I assume you're talking about the annual 10 mile run sponsored by Arcadia State College's Science department that I've been talking about all week. Are you thinking of entering? Money raised goes towards sending their graduate students to the yearly "Particles In Motion Symposium" in Washington."

"Uhhh… run?" Desperately, Joan looked at Adam who shrugged and looked just as dubious.

"I'll get a form for you to fill out. Try to get as many pledges as you can. It's due in two weeks. The run's on the fourth." Swishing her pointer once again, the teacher made her way towards the front of the class.

"10 mile run? Particles in Motion? What did I just do?" Joan looked between her two friends, completely bewildered.

"Got to hand it to you Girardi. Your predilection for torture is really fascinating. They should do a study."

"It's O.K., Jane. It will be alright. You can train for it." Adam patted her arm reassuringly.

"Train for it?" Burying her face in her hands, she quietly started banging her head against the desk.

----------------------

Form in hand, Joan headed towards her locker at the end of the day, grumbling to Adam and Grace. "So not only do I have to run a zillion miles, I also have to beg people to give me money! How insane is that?"

"You can always just not do it." Grace pointed out.

"I can't not do it. Lishack already gave me the form. She'll know if I don't go."

"So what? What can she do? She has no power to force you to do anything you don't want. She's not some fascist ruling your world."

"You don't get it. She'll know and for the rest of the semester, I'll be paranoid that every time she looks at me she'll think I'm some loser who wouldn't help a bunch of other losers go to a seminar filled with yet more losers."

"Whatever. Your life. Enjoy sweating. Let's go, Luke." Grabbing her boyfriend by the arm, she dragged him away.

"Jane, it will be fine. We run all the time in gym class. Ten miles isn't really that much. There's no time limit and you don't even have to run the whole time. You can just walk. You can probably walk the whole thing."

"You think?"

"Well, maybe not walk the whole thing. But parts of it for sure."

"Well, O.K" Joan said, still doubtful. "Hey, why don't you do it, too? That way I won't be alone and it could be something we do together." She brightened at the thought and looked expectantly at him.

Looking uncomfortable at disappointing her, he said "You know I would. I just don't have the time right now. We're working on a major ad campaign at the Graphic Design studio where I'm interning and the deadline's the same week as the run. They've given me so many hours from now until then and I just don't think I can handle both and school." He hurriedly added, "But I'll help you any way I can. And I'll do my best to be at the finish line when you finish."

"You might not even be there at the end when I cross the finish line?" She couldn't help pouting.

Running his hand down her hair, he said, "I'll try. I'll beg, plead and barter my soul if I have to."

Slightly mollified, she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Well, don't barter your soul. You know what happened to that other guy who tried to do it."

"Dorian Grey?"

"Um, was he played by Brendan Frasier?"

"No. Never mind. O.K. I promise, no selling my soul. But I'll help you, Jane. With whatever you need."

"I know. You're the best." Swinging around, she grabbed him in a fierce hug. "I don't know if I can do this, Adam. But it helps to know that you think that I can."

Touched, he held her lovingly in his arms. "Cha, of course. You can do anything. You're Jane."

Smiling and held fast in his embrace, she pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss.

"Ahem. Can I get in on this or what?" Friedman asked as he approached the couple.

Without breaking contact, the two reached up and smacked him on the head.

"Ouch! Watch it! The Friedman needs to be in tip top condition for the next while. There's a marathon to be run and women to impress with my athletic prowess."

Breaking the kiss, Joan turned to Friedman and said incredulously, "You're doing the Particles in Motion marathon?"

"But of course. I do it every year. Are you in it, too?"

"Yeah, I somehow got sucked in by Lishack. You were right in front of my when it happened."

"Ah, yes. I was completely entranced staring at the luscious and lovely Lisa Zeinweg. She's wearing a very flattering, and revealing, outfit today. Growl."

"Ew. Over-sharing." Disgusted, she closed her eyes to the images dancing in her head. "You do this every year. You can barely climb the rope in gym."

"It's not about muscle. It's about skill, endurance and calculating."

"Calculating?" Adam piped up.

"Sure. Calculating how long you can go without over-tiring yourself. How much distance you've travelled, how much more you still need to do. So… you're doing the run Joan. If you want, I can give you some help. Show you some pointers. All one-on-one of course."

"Gross," exclaimed Joan, shoving him hard enough to get him to back up a couple of paces. "Adam said he'll help me."

"But Adam's never run more than a couple of times around the gym." Seeing the mutinous looks on both Adam and Joan's faces he raised his arms in surrender. "O.K. kidding aside. I can help. Adam can come, too. I just don't want you to hurt yourself. You can't just go running without any rhyme or reason. That's how people get hurt."

"I wasn't just going to run without researching. I would have read a book." All of them knew that was a bold-faced lie but no one countered the statement.

"Well, now you don't have to. It's better when a real person is there anyway. They can monitor and gauge your progress much more effectively than a book."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Suspicious, she gave Friedman an appraising look.

"Hey, we're friends." Noticing her scowl he continued, "Seriously, we are. I mean, you were friends with Judith, so…" His voice broke off abruptly, and he didn't know what to say after that.

Joan's face softened and, against her own nature, she reached out to take his arm.

Moving away from the gesture, Friedman ran his hands through his air and turned away. "Just let me know if you want someone to run with. Luke knows where to find me."

Watching him walk away, Joan said softly, "He's not really over her."

"He cared about her," Adam said simply.

Nodding, Joan closed her locker and, taking Adam's hand, walked outside.

(tbc)


	3. And the training begins

**Marathon Woman**

_Disclaimer: JOAN OF ARCADIA is the creation of Barbara Hall and I have no legal rights to the story or characters._

_A/N: Thanksto those who reviewed. I really enjoyed reading your comments and will do my best to update at least once a week. Please note that although this story is set post "Dive" it is also pre "Shadows and Light", before Adam and Joan's relationship goes through its downward spiral. Enjoy!_

Chapter 3: And the Training Begins

"What's this about you signing up for the marathon? I can hardly get you to walk to the store two blocks from us - you'd rather take the car." Helen looked skeptically at Joan as she walked through the front door.

Rolling her eyes, Joan turned to grouch "You've always told me to exercise. I'm just following your advice."

"Oh, but Joan, a marathon? Do you really think you're capable…"

"Hey, hey! Where's your faith in me?"

"I have complete faith in you, dear. It's just…" her mom's voice trailed off.

Folding her arms across her chest, Joan stared at her mom. "You don't think I can do this?"

"Of course you can. Just, you know, it's not really your thing. I mean, you've been doing so much lately, with school, picking out colleges… And, you know, you tried diving not too long ago and never really finished."

"That wasn't my fault! The coach kicked me off the team because I pushed someone who made fun of Luke."

"Yes, that was very nice of you, dear. But, still…"

"This is different. It's a one shot deal. And Adam said he would help me."

"Oh, is Adam going to do the run, too?"

"No, he can't. But, you know, he said he would cheer me on. Something you obviously aren't willing to do."

"Oh, honey, don't say that! Of course your father and I will cheer you on. We'll even sponsor you! How much money would you like us to pledge."

Joan smiled. The guilt trip worked every time. "Well, I haven't had any pledges, yet. What about $50?"

"$50! That's a lot more than I would have expected. What about $25. That's a nice number."

Joan's smile broadened, giving her mother the impression that that's the amount she was going for all along.

"Great. Here's my form."

---------------------

"There's a sharp pain in my side. That can't be good. Oh. Oh. I can't. I have to…" Collapsing to the ground, Joan sat panting, trying to catch her breath. "There's… got… to.. be… another… way…" She said between gasps.

Adam looked down at her, his breath catching as well. Handing her a bottle of water, he squatted down beside her. "Well, we ran two blocks before stopping, that's good."

"Adam! That's horrible! How am I supposed to do ten miles? I can't even go two blocks."

"You're just starting. Maybe we need to revise your plan. I don't think running full-out the first time out is the best way to do it. Maybe you should alternate - jog a bit, walk a bit, jog a little more. You know, slow and steady, right?"

"You think?"

Patting her knee lightly he said, "Cha, it's got to be better than collapsing after two minutes. You know, maybe you should ask Friedman to help."

"Yeah, but then I would actually have to BE with Friedman, voluntarily, for more than ten minutes a day. I don't think I can do that."

Laughing, he pulled Joan to her feet. "Alright, let's try it. I can't really run with you for too long. I have to head to work soon."

Dusting her hands on her pants, she nodded. "No problem. I don't think I can keep going for that much longer anyway."

"Let's start off slowly."

"Slow is good." She began jogging with Adam by her side. A block and a half later, her breathing ragged, she slowed to a walk. Adam adjusted his speed to hers. Amiably, they walked in silence until their breathing slowed to normal.

"Well, this isn't so bad. Except if I do this for ten miles it'll take me the whole day."

"It'll be fine."

"Yeah, I guess. Wanna start the jogging thing again?"

Looking down at his watch, he frowned. "Sorry. I have to go home. I need a quick shower before I head to work. I don't really mind being sweaty, but I think the others won't be so impressed being crammed in an enclosed space with me."

Smiling, Joan said, "Hey, it's the new scent this season: Eau de Sweat. I'm sure you guys could make a successful ad campaign for it."

"Ha ha." Giving her a quick kiss, he turned towards home. "Keep at it, Jane. Just don't push yourself too hard, yo."

She watched him run in the direction of home and thought, "If I don't push myself hard, than I can't get this done. Maybe I'll run just a little bit faster, and little bit longer. How bad could it be?"

---------------------

She learned that it could be very, very bad to push too hard. Groaning, she eased her body out of bed the next morning. Every single part of her ached. Painstakingly, she waddled to the bathroom only to find Luke waiting at the door.

"Who's in the washroom?"

"Kevin. I have first dibs though. What's wrong with you? You look horrible."

"Thanks. Let me return the compliment. Oohh, my back." She tried futilely to massage her back while Luke stared at her. "I tried running yesterday. It did not agree with me."

"Did you stretch?"

"Of course I stretched."

"Before and after you ran?"

"After I ran?" She looked doubtfully at her brother.

"Yeah, after. It's not good enough to just do it before hand. That's just to limber up. You should stretch afterwards, too. It helps in the cooling down process."

"Cooling down process?"

"Is there an echo in the room?"

Sticking out her tongue at him, she sat down on the floor to give her aching legs a rest.

"Why do you know so much about stretching?"

"It's common sense, Joan. Something that you obviously lack."

"If I had enough energy I would smack you."

"Why do you want to smack Luke?" Kevin asked as he wheeled out of the bathroom.

"Finally," Luke muttered.

"He's just being a royal pain. Hey, you look nice. Where are you off, to?"

"Work. Nowhere special."

"So why the new shirt and, is that the overpowering scent of your cologne I detect?"

"Lay off. What's with you, anyway. You look like you're in pain."

"Just sore from running."

"Did you stretch?"

Rolling her eyes, she groused, "Don't you start, too."

"Hey, it was just a question. Feel better."

As Kevin made his way down the hall, Jane pounded on the bathroom door (at least as loudly as her weak limbs would allow). "Aren't you done, yet!"

"I just got in."

Irritated, Joan couldn't help but think that it was going to a long day.

(tbc)


	4. Aches and Pains

**Marathon Woman**

_Disclaimer: JOAN OF ARCADIA is the creation of Barbara Hall and I have no legal rights to the story or characters._

Chapter 4: Aches and Pains

"Ow. Ow. Ow." Every step she took as she walked down the hallway was agony. People stared at her as she went by, as she was muttering to herself with a look of immense pain on her face.

"Girardi! What happened to you?"

"Running happened to me. Stupid Particles in Motion. Who wants to go to a stupid symposium anyway?"

"How long did you run for?"

"Like, half an hour. Don't laugh Grace. I've seen you in gym class. You couldn't have done any better."

Smirking, Grace replied, "And I don't have to. I'm not the one who won't tell Lishack no. Get a back bone, Girardi."

"I have one. It's currently throbbing, so I definitely know it's there. Just leave it, Grace." Joan kept walking, stopping every so often to rub her back.

Shaking her head, Grace watched her make her way to AP Physics and decided to find Adam to see if together they couldn't talk some sense into Joan. Grace wound her way through the crowd towards Adam's locker. She saw him with his head buried inside, papers strewn everywhere and a massive structure of metal tubing and wires leaning against the wall.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing to the object.

"My art project. Grace do you have my notes for the lab? I can't find them. We're supposed to hand it in and I know I did it."

"No idea. Did you lend them to Joan?"

"No. Maybe? I can't remember."

"She's already in class. If you hurry, you can probably get her notes and fill them out before class starts. What is all this?" She gestures towards the chaos around them.

"I just can't find anything, yo." Throwing one last piece of paper out of his locker, he got up and slammed it shut. "Forget it. I'll just give whatever I can manage to write-up before class."

"You're a mess, Rove. What gives? First Girardi is walking around like some old lady who has misplaced her walker and now you're little lost boy."

Rubbing his face in an effort to brush the tiredness away, Adam responded, "Yeah, I know. I've just been over-worked lately. Too much to do and not enough time to do it."

"Relax, then. It's just school."

"If it were just school, I would be fine. It's the design studio, working on my art, finding time for Jane."

"Yeah, being her boyfriend is almost a full-time job." At his weary look, she added, "But, hey, whatever works for you."

Shaking his head, Adam said, "I like being with her. But there's so much that I do and she does that there isn't time to just be in the moment with her."

"If you need help with something, just ask her. I know Joan does a lot of weird stuff that doesn't make sense, but you know she'll come through for you if you need it."

Smiling absently, Adam nodded. He hefted his art project into his arms and walked towards class. "Jane is walking around like an old lady? What's wrong?"

"She said something about running. I think she over-did it yesterday."

"I told her to take it easy. She was fine when I left her to go to work."

"Yeah, well, she's not fine now. She can barely walk."

Shaking his head sadly, he commented, "She's trying to do too much, too quickly."

"Of course she is. It's Joan, remember. Dive right in there, head first, without checking if there's anything at the bottom of the pool, Joan. Something must be done. She needs help."

"Well, Friedman said that he could help her train."

"Friedman's your answer to the problem? What planet are you on these days? I meant help her stop the insanity, not add to it."

"She seems pretty determined to do this. We could try to be supportive."

"But Friedman? Come on, I wouldn't foist him on people I hate much less on people that I actually like."

"He's run the race before and lived to tell the tale. He's our best bet."

"God save Joan, then. Do you want to break it to her? Preferably when I'm not in the same room? Because I don't want to be around when she starts with the shrieking."

"Funny. Funny."

------------------

As Joan slowly made her way to AP Physics a familiar voice drifts out from a nearby classroom.

"You're over-doing it Joan."

Rolling her eyes, she turned to CuteBoyGod and replied, "Says the guy who told me to take up running. What did you expect? I am not, nor will I ever be, any kind of athlete. Why do you have to be so mean?"

"I'm not mean, Joan. There is a purpose."

"Yeah, yeah, there's always a purpose. I just never know what it is, and right now, I don't care. I hurt." Stopping abruptly in the middle of the hallway she grabbed her left leg and tried to massage it. "Everything is on fire. I repeat, why do you have to be so mean?"

"You're going about it all wrong, Joan. You're jumping in blindly and not giving yourself the opportunity to find your own rhythm."

"Rhythm? What does this have to do with music?"

"Not music Joan. The other kind of rhythm. You don't have to run flat out at the start of the gate. It's not just about getting from point A to point B."

"Then what's it about? Raising money for some ridiculous symposium? Because let me tell you, I don't think that's really going to do anybody any good in the grand scheme of things."

"You need help. You should talk to Friedman. He can lend you a hand."

"Friedman! Are you kidding me? Aren't you supposed to help? All that talk about a kind and benevolent creator… does that ring any bells? You should help me."

Shaking his head ruefully, he began to walk away. "Talk to him. Help each other."

Grumbling dark thoughts about unhelpful deities and wondering what she could possibly do to get out of this, she missed the little wave the brown-haired man gave as he blended in with the swarm of students.

(tbc)


End file.
